Antoine Griezmann scored his fifth LaLiga goal of the season to lead Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 win against a resilient Valencia team, securing six straight home victories in the matchup and keeping the hosts’ unbeaten league streak intact at the Estadio Metropolitano this season.
After recently scoring a stoppage-time equalizer against Sevilla, Valencia forward Hugo Duro would have felt disappointed to send an early opportunity off the crossbar of Jan Oblak’s goal.
Following that initial fright, Atletico attacked with Alexander Sorloth, who compelled Julen Agirrezabala to intervene.
Rather, it was Koke who opened the scoring at the Metropolitano, with the Atletico captain calmly slotting a finish at the near post after seizing a rebound from Agirrezabala’s frantic save of Matteo Ruggeri’s shot.
Even after allowing the first goal for the sixth time in eight away league matches, Valencia displayed remarkable determination, challenging the Atletico defense until they finally scored via Pepelu in the 35th minute.
Nonetheless, their endeavors turned out to be fruitless, since a VAR review validated that Duro had assumed an offside stance during the buildup, guaranteeing the home team led at halftime in a LaLiga match for only the third time this season.
Unfazed by the disallowed goal, Los Che ultimately secured a well-deserved equalizer with Lucas Beltran shortly after the hour mark.
The replacement skillfully connected with Andre Almeida and displayed his rapid footwork to evade Thiago Almada before sending a powerful shot beyond Oblak’s grasp.
Unexpectedly, Beltran’s initial LaLiga goal turned out to be the most beneficial moment for Atleti in the match, as it served as a crucial inspiration to display increased determination in the attacking third.
Consequently, it was just a matter of time before experienced forward Griezmann regained the home team’s lead, skillfully controlling a high pass and then striking a powerful left-foot shot beyond Agirrezabala.
Sorloth later noticed a late attempt canceled due to offside, but importantly for the team in fourth place, they skillfully managed the final moments to recover from back-to-back losses and keep Valencia only one point above the relegation zone.
